( FEEDING) Feeding for Weight Control and the Laminitis-Prone E
quines who are good-doers and put on weight at the drop of a hat, can prove a bit of a headache, at this time of year, as grass is nutritious and plentiful. Every aspect of their management and diet must be considered in order to avoid excessive weight gain and to reduce the risk of laminitis.
Forage Intake • Overweight or laminitis-prone equines should never be starved as this can cause further metabolic complications. Forage intake must not fall below the equivalent of 1% of the horse’s bodyweight per day and, for those on a strict diet, will need to be weighed.
• Although haylage may have a lower overall sugar content than hay, it is generally higher in calories so is best avoided for good-doers. To further reduce calorie content, hay should be soaked for several hours to leach nutrients out, although care should be taken in warmer weather as the soaking water can become unpleasant. • Using small-holed haynets and/or a net within a net will help a small amount last longer, since lengthy periods without forage are also to be avoided as they risk
gastric ulcers or other digestive upsets. • As an alternative to haynets, consider other forage- extending devices, like hay grazers/bags, hay balls or bins, which can slow forage consumption while minimising the horse’s frustration when trying to access the forage. • Remember the importance of exercise in avoiding weight- gain or encouraging weight-loss. Even “pet ponies” can be kept on the move by having to walk round their box/paddock for forage by tying several small nets in different places. • Alternative forage sources include low calorie chaffs, some of which have a lower calorie content than average hay and which can be fed in larger quantities to add variety to the good-doer’s diet. Soaked unmolassed beet pulp is also useful as a small amount, dry weight, soaks up to a large volume, to keep a horse chewing without providing many calories. • “Fortified” chaffs, which contain vitamins and minerals, can replace both the forage and bucket feeds but must be fed at recommended levels in order to provide a fully balanced diet. This can seem a large volume so look at the back of the bag and consider the horse/pony’s total forage/concentrate ration as a whole.
Turn-Out • Whether overweight or not, a susceptible equine’s access to pasture should be carefully managed. Fructan content of grass varies according to light intensity, temperature and stage of growth. Current recommendations suggest that the safest time to turn out is late at night and for them to come in by mid-morning. • Sunny, frosty mornings are also to be avoided when the temperature is too cool for grass to grow
but the sunlight encourages photosynthesis and the resultant fructan is stored rather than being used for grass growth. • Aside from fructan levels, whilst grass provides essential fibre, it is also a calorific forage and intake may need managing simply to avoid weight-gain. Options range from strip grazing, to maintaining nearly “bald” paddocks (electric fencing) to grazing muzzles.
Compound Feed • For the laminitic, the emphasis is on limiting starch intake which means avoiding cereals. This should not be at the expense of other essential nutrients, however, which are best provided by a low calorie balancer, supplying protein, vitamins and minerals to support hoof growth, health and well-being, without the calories associated with a mix or cube. • Most balancers also contain pre and/or probiotics to support gut health; this is of
paramount importance to the laminitic as bacterial
populations in the hindgut are compromised during an attack. • The antioxidants provided by balancers are also important as free radical levels within the body increase as a result of stress or illness, like laminitis. • Feeding the correct amount of a balancer each day, plus some low calorie chaff, if desired, is a good way to ensure the horse or pony receives all the essential
nutrients it needs, whereas “fortified chaffs” are often under- fed so the animal misses out. • The laminitis-prone who need to gain condition are best provided with additional calories in the form of highly digestible fibre provided by the likes of unmolassed beet pulp, alfalfa chaff or combinations of the two. High oil supplements are also useful and ideally contain the additional antioxidants required to optimise the metabolism of the oil.
For practical advice on feeding and managing the good-doer or laminitis-prone, contact Baileys Horse Feeds on
info@baileyshorsefeeds.co.uk, 01371 850247 or visit
www.baileyshorsefeeds.co.uk. Baileys’ free Equine Weight Loss Programme workbook contains advice and tips as well as charts to record bodyweight, condition scores and to monitor progress, and can be ordered via their web site.
8
SUMMER SPECIAL 2019
For the latest news visit
www.centralhorsenews.co.uk
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